Happy 100th birthday, Kenya Scouts Association!

Kenya_Scouts_Association The Boy Scouts of America isn't the only Scouting organization celebrating its 100th Anniversary this year.

The Kenya Scouts Association, one of 160 recognized national Scout organizations in the world, has also reached triple digits in 2010.

As reported in an Associated Press article published in The Washington Post, the Kenya Scouts Association is the oldest Scouting organization in Africa.

Scouting founder Robert Baden-Powell, who made Kenya his second home, organized Africa's first Scout meeting at a church in Nairobi on Nov. 24, 1910. One-hundred years later, Scouts in Kenya are 400,000 strong.

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki presided over the 100th Anniversary celebration held this month in Nairobi. 

"I note that over the last 100 years, Scouting has continued to contribute greatly to the character formation of thousands of our nation's youth," he told The Associated Press.

Sound familiar? Replace "thousands" with "millions" in that quote, and President Kibaki could be speaking about the Boy Scouts of America. It seems that you can find the positive effects of Scouting in any of the movement's 160 countries and 28 million members worldwide. 

Congratulations, Kenya Scouts Association, and good luck in your next 100 years!


About Bryan Wendell 3282 Articles
Bryan Wendell, an Eagle Scout, is the founder of Bryan on Scouting and a contributing writer.